Mistythorn's Story: #1 Story Series

Chapter 1

Birdflame watched fondly as Cherrykit clawed her way up the nursery walls. "Look at me!" she squealed.

Meanwhile, Mistykit was practicing her running, bounding in circles around the clearing. For a moment she glanced towards Cherrykit climbing; then, she shuddered and raced on. 

Suddenly Lizardclaw entered the clearing with her hunting patrol. In her jaws, she held a vole.

As three other cats - Coalstrike, Leafpaw and Yellowclaw - entered the clearing, Mistykit went on running, but they had gone onto her track, and even as she attempted to swerve she couldn't dodge them completely. She tripped over Leafpaw's mouse which the tortoiseshell-and-white had dropped, and went flying into Yellowclaw.  

"Sorry!" she squeaked, horrified. Yellowclaw was one of the strictest cats in the Clan - he'd surely tell Brightstar! Yellowclaw scowled and strode over towards the prey-heap and deposited his prey. 

"Mistykit, come and play moss ball with me!" Cherrykit bounded over and tackled Mistykit to the ground.

"But I want to do some running." Mistykit replied, struggling to hide her disappointment.

"But we always do running!" complained Cherrykit.

"Now now, Mistykit, you can do some more running in the morning, now, why don't you go and get one of the elders to tell you a story?" Birdflame purred from the entrance of the nursery.

"Okay!" Cherrykit squealed as she raced off towards the elders den.

"Dawnstripe, Dawnstripe! Tell us a story!" Mistykit loved hearing stories from the elders.

When they reached the elders den they saw Dawnstripe curled up in a deep bed of moss. Small snores rose from her small, fluffy body. She opened one of her lilac eyes and purred. Darkwing opened his copper eyes and growled.

"Kits, no respect for elders these days, back in my day we were as quiet as a mouse around the elders." Darkwing got up and arched his back until his legs trembled in a long stretch and started grooming himself.

Mistykit was running across an open moor, wind whipping against her pelt. She felt as if her paws were barely touching the grass. She felt Birdflame stir beside her and was disappointed to find that it was just a dream.

"Birdflame, why do we have to live under the trees? Don't any of the Clan prefer open sky?" Mistykit asked as she sat up in the nursery.

"Go back to sleep little one, you can play at sunrise if you would like." Birdflame wiggled around until she had found a comfortable position in the thick moss that they slept on.

"Be quiet." Cherrykit grumbled from where she was curled up against Birdflame.

"Sorry" Mistykit apologised and lay down with her head on her paws.

Flowerfang stirred and woke up, her green eyes shining in the darkness.

"Go to sleep." She mumbled as she adjusted herself around her two kits. They were a bit big for the nursery at six moons old and would surely be apprenticed soon.

Mistykit and Cherrykit were slightly younger being 4 moons old. 

Mistykit couldn't get back to sleep after that. She kept thinking of the moor she had dreamed about. Was it real? Would she be able to go there one day? Would she be stuck under the trees forever? Mistykit kept thinking about these questions over and over again until she was so exhausted that she fell into a fitful sleep. She dreamt that she was stuck in the highest tree in the forest.

When the sun finally rose Birdflame got out of their nest and started washing. It was a cold new-leaf morning and the weak sun gave no warmth. Mistykit got up and stretched. She prodded Cherrykit who was still sleeping.

"Cherrykit! Wake up! I want to have a race!"

"Ohh, but we always have to do races and I always lose! Why can't we do something else?" Cherrykit complained.

"We can have one race and then we can play moss ball." Mistykit suggested as she bounded out of the nursery.

Brightstar slunk silently out of her den and leaped onto meeting rock. 

"Let all cats old enough to climb gather beneath the meeting rock for a clan meeting!" she yowled across the clearing. 

"Can we go Birdflame?"

The she-cat sighed. "Alright, but don't bother anyone. Here, sit on the side of the clearing," she pointed with her tail towards a thicket of brambles. 

Cherrykit eagerly bounced over and Mistykit ran after her. They sat down with a bump just as Brightstar began.

"Rockkit, Dewkit, step forward,"

The two large apprentices - whose pelts weren't ruffled but gleamed instead - stepped forward. Suddenly Mistykit felt very small among the large warriors and the proud, six-moon-old kits.

"Rockkit," began Brightstar. "You have reached the age of six moons old, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, you shall be known as Rockpaw. Your mentor will be..."

The sleek brown she-cat's gaze scanned the crowd to rest warmly on Foxwing. Everyone murmured their approval, and Mistykit felt envious. Foxwing was the best hunter in the Clan, and a fantastic fighter, too.

"Foxwing," Brightstar called. "You are ready to have your second apprentice. Birdflame has been a good apprentice, and she is now a fine warrior because of your training. Because of that, I ask you to pass on your unwavering loyalty and hunting skills to Rockpaw."

Foxwing looked delighted. "I promise to try my best, Brightstar," she called solemnly. 

"Good," replied Brightstar. "I knew I chose well. Dewkit,"

The dull grey she-cat walked over, her ears pricked and her fur bristling with excitement. Mistykit barely recognised the fluffy kit she'd played with two moons ago. Now, Dewkit looked like a real warrior. But Brightstar's next words surprised her.

"Your mentor will be Pebblestripe,"

Dewkit would be a medicine cat! Mistykit felt Cherrykit shiver beside her. "I wouldn't want to be stuck in the medicine cat den, counting leaves," her littermate whispered.

Mistykit agreed with her littermate. She definitely wouldn't want to be a medicine cat! But it still made her excited at the thought. Her denmates would move to the apprentices' den and get to explore the territory.

Mistykit couldn't wait till she was an apprentice!

~Blazey